Reflections on Decentralization, Community Empowerment and Sustainable Development in Cameroon

Good governance and development discussions shed light on the role of citizen participation as a fundamental mechanism of achieving sustainable development in local communities. The current popularity of decentralization, especially in the developing world, is unparalleled, with 80% of all developing and transition countries undertaking some form of decentralization over the past two decades. As of July 2004, the Cameroonian house of parliament promulgated into law, three bills on decentralization. Under the provisions of the laws of 2004, there is the devolution of powers accompanied by the transfer of means (financial, material and human), to local councils. This move to decentralize power, authority and resources is seen as a logical way forward to bring development closer to the people not only in terms of actions, but also in terms of their development choices. Although emphasis is placed on the need for communities to achieve sustainable development, the role of decentralization is primordial. This paper posits that decentralization, if effectively implemented, could serve as a panacea to the sustainable development impasse of local communities in Cameroon. It holds that a highly inappreciable level of decentralization that characterizes the Cameroon society has been the bulwark to sustainable development of communities. The paper recommends the need to speed-up the process of decentralization by undertaken effectively reforms and creating timelines for targets towards decentralization and sustainable community development through empowerment

Peri-Urban Land Use Dynamics and Development Implications in the Bamenda III Municipality of Cameroon

A consequence of rapid and uncontrolled urbanization is the growth of the peri-urban environment. Peri-urban areas the world over are undergoing rapid changes in their land uses with significant development implications. In the present study, Bamenda III, a municipality of Cameroon, which forms part of the Bamenda Metropolis—a primate city par excellence, witnessed dramatic changes in its peri-urban zone. Such changes are exemplified by the multiplication of land uses, a reduction inagricultural land in favour of settlements and other infrastructural developments as well as wetland invasion. Using a systematic sampling of 100 inhabitants in the Bamenda III peri-urban zone, complemented by interviews and secondary data sources, we sought to investigate the evolution, drivers and development implications of peri-urban land use dynamics. The results showed that during the year 2000-2015, there was a reduction in agricultural land area from 2943ha to 1389ha and a corresponding increase in the area for settlements from 1389ha to 2943ha. A positive correlation was observed between population growth and peri-urban land use dynamics in Bamenda III. The observeddynamics has significant developmental implications in terms of future planning perspectives, future developments at the expense of agricultural land and further encroachments into wetlands. The studyconcludes that a coordinated and planned growth policy should be introduced in order to control rapid peri-urban land use change in the face of population growth

A Model for Sustainable Water Supply in Rural Communities: The Case of Ekondo-Titi, Cameroon

One would have expected that Ekondo-Titi which has the rare luxury of benefiting from the radial drainage pattern of the Rumpi Hills (which serves as the main catchment in Ndian Division) would be self-sufficient in terms of water quality and quantity. This community is rather greeted with water scarcity which is partly blamed on the failure to initiate and sustain water supply schemes. Forest destruction in favor of oil palm plantations by Pamol and small holder schemes have contributed to degrade the major water catchments thereby increasing stream erosion and siltation. This has altered the flow characteristics of streams. This paper proposes a model for sustainable water supply by indicating the opportunities that exist for internal and external actors to galvanise their resources to ensure adequate water supply in this fast developing rural community. It was observed that a major setback in the attainment of this goal remains the insufficient resources (material and financial) and the absence of a synergy among the key actors of Ekondo-Titi. The model recommends the strengthening of stakeholder synergy and where necessary, further support from external actors in the process of initiating and sustaining water development projects

Farmers' Knowledge and Perceptions to Climate Variability in North West Cameroon

Global climate variability exerts negative impacts especially on agriculture-dependent economies. Contemporary climate modelling suggests that farming households in developing countries will bear the greatest brunt from climate variability. However, information on farmers’ knowledge and perceptions to climate variability and possible influence on household adaptation strategies especially in developing countries is scarce. This paper assesses farmers’ knowledge and perceptions to climate variability, based on a case study from the North Western region of Cameroon.A structured questionnaire was used in a cross sectional survey to collect data on knowledge and perceptions to climate variability, from 272 farmers in six randomly selected villages in the North West Region of Cameroon. Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 17.0) and Excel. Over 97% of respondents demonstrated contextual knowledge of climate variability. Perceptions to the causes of climate variability were quite diverse. While 20% of respondents had no idea, around 40% attributed climate variability to human activities, 20% to industrial activities and 20% to the anger of the gods. We conclude with the need for climate variability research to increasingly pay attention to farmers’ indigenous knowledge and perceptions as prerequisites to building resilience amongst farmers in Cameroon

Crisis-induced disruptions in place-based social-ecological research ‐ an opportunity for redirection

Place-based research faces multiple threats, including both natural and global health hazards and political conflicts, which may disrupt fieldwork. The current COVID-19 pandemic shows how these threats can drastically affect social-ecological research activities given its engagement with different local stakeholders, disciplines, and knowledge systems. The crisis reveals the need for adaptive research designs while also providing an opportunity for a structural shift towards a more sustainable and inclusive research landscape

Crisis-induced disruptions in place-based social-ecological research ‐ an opportunity for redirection

Place-based research faces multiple threats, including both natural and global health hazards and political conflicts, which may disrupt fieldwork. The current COVID-19 pandemic shows how these threats can drastically affect social-ecological research activities given its engagement with different local stakeholders, disciplines, and knowledge systems. The crisis reveals the need for adaptive research designs while also providing an opportunity for a structural shift towards a more sustainable and inclusive research landscape

Transport as an Impediment to an Economically Endowed Region: The Case of Ekondo -Titi Sub Division of Cameroon Transport as an Impediment to an Economically Endowed Region: The Case of Ekondo -Titi Sub Division of Cameroon 1

ABSTRACT Ekondo -Titi which has been described as the economic nerve centre of Ndian Division exhibits a plethora of growth potentials which make it an economically endowed town. Viable as this area may seem, it has been difficult to convert such viability to economic development. This is largely due to the fact that the area is poorly developed in terms of road and maritime transport. This paper examines the problems of road and water transport in Ekondo -Titi Sub-Division of Cameroon with a close look at the characteristics of the water and road transport modes. This paper also identifies the operational deficiencies that prevent transport from fulfilling its role in the development of the Sub-Division. Using a combination of field observations, interviews and group discussion with the different economic operators, it was observed that the prices of basic commodities such as building materials have increased significantly due to the high cost of transportation to the area. This has therefore slowed down the economic take -off of the Sub-Division for most parts of the year. The study presents proposals for appropriate remedial action both within the context of transport between this region and other areas of the South West Region and Cameroon in general

A review of drivers of environmental non‑migration decisions in Africa

In spite of growing scholarship on environmentally induced non-migration research in Africa, comprehensive empirical evidence of non-migration drivers is extremely difficult to find. We review 77 rigorously selected empirical articles on the drivers of environmental non-migration. A variety of relevant keywords was applied to search, identify, and select key publications from ScienceDirect, Web of Knowledge, Google Scholar, and the Climig databases. Content analysis and inter-rater reliability (IRR) analysis were used to summarize the literature and identify key drivers of environmental non-migration decisions across all retained articles. The study structure was informed by the Foresight (2011a) conceptual framework. A growth in the non-migration literature across the time period was observed. Social factors, particularly place-based attachment and family/cultural obligations, was identified as the most important driver of non-migration (IRR score = 0.67). Environmental factors were ranked second, particularly the ability of the affected to develop coping capacity through experiential learning even in contexts marred by resource scarcity and widespread poverty. Given the limited literature on environmental nonmigration decisions, we recommend increased non-migration research across Africa to better inform policy decisions. This is particularly important as climate-related disasters surge. Frequent reviews on diverse aspects of non-migration studies are recommended to redefine future research and non-migration policy considerations in Africa

Community-Based Actors and Participation in Rangeland Management. Lessons from the Western Highlands of Cameroon

Participation is a key component in socioecological systems (especially rangeland) governance. Yet, in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), this attribute is yet to be fully understood and/or mainstreamed in natural resource management. This suggests the need for renewed learning on how actors are (dis)engaged in rangeland governance. With a litany of studies focusing on rangeland transformation, complementary evidence which unpacks actor’s participation in rangeland management are required in SSA. Through a survey of 333 households from 12 pastoral communities in Cameroon’s Western Highlands, this paper (i) maps the interactions of rangeland actors, (ii) analyzes actors’ participation in rangeland institutions and in the implementation of management approaches, and (iii) discusses their potential implications for rangeland governance. Using the socioecological coevolution approach as analytical lens, the study revealed the following: (1) state and non-state actors demonstrate overlapping interests, and form temporary alliances to pursue these interests, (2) pastoral households’ participation demonstrate a wavy tendency—with activity-specific participation in decision making and grazing activities (facilitated by catalyzing agents) as opposed to nominal and passive participation in arbitrary boundary setting. (3) The wavy participation spectrum translates to suboptimal resource use, differential and fragmented engagements, and adaptation to changing resource circumstances. The results enhance our understanding of actor dynamics in socioecological systems, and provides relevant information to support Cameroon’s environmental management policy with emphasis on her cattle rearing kingdoms